These are the Best Yeast Doughnuts. Period! (Dairy-Free)
The Only Yeast Donuts Recipe You'll Ever Need {Dairy-free}
I have been testing yeast doughnuts recipes since 2010. During that time, I have wasted hundreds of pounds of flour (no kidding!) searching for the best, fluffy doughnuts ever eaten, without the load of dairy products. It can take time to find a doughnut you love, and when you do, they will most likely be amazing when fresh, but not so good the next morning… except for these ones!
These doughnuts are a must during Hanukkah, and although they are a labor of love, your family and guests won’t be disappointed, in fact, they might beg for more, because these doughnuts are airy and fluffy even when baked!, and they pass the “next morning” test – reheated in the oven at 300F for about 3-5 minutes, and they were as good as new (hey, you don’t even have to reheat if you leave them at room temperature! In short, these are a dream come true!
And, well, as much as I want to tell you that I did all the”figuring out” by myself, the truth is, a very talented baker that I’ve followed on instagram for some years now, kindly shared her recipe with me, and to that I made adjustments. If you love baking, and want to learn more recipes and tips, you should check her page on instagram.
All the nitty gritty of this doughnut is detailed in the recipe notes below. As I said, these are a labor of love, but so worthy. If after all the details you still have questions, please, don’t hesitate to ask; send me an email or DM on instagram or use the contact form here.
These are the Best Yeast Doughnuts. Period! (Dairy-Free)
Equipment
- Hand Mixer with dough hook or Stand Mixer
Ingredients
- 1 Kg All Purpose flou
- 250 gr Bread flour
- 100 gr White Sugar
- 20 gr Rapid Rise Yeast* (also called "instant") see Notes below
- 210 ml Eggs
- 515 ml Lukewarm Water
- 100 ml Vegetable Oil (or other neutral oil)
- 30 ml 30 ml Vanilla extract, butter emulsion or other preferred flavoring
- 3 gr 3 gr Vanilla Sugar* omit if using vanilla extract
- 2 gr Salt
Speculoos Donuts
- 720 gr Speculoos cookie spread
- 200 gr Speculoos cookies
Chocolate Filling
- 200 gr Semi-Sweet Chocolate chunks
- 250 gr Plant-based milk
- 50 ml Vegan Whipping cream
Glazed Chocolate Donuts
- 150 gr Confectioner's sugar
- 30 gr Cocoa Powder
- 30 ml Prepared instant coffee (or you can use plant-based milk or water instead)
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Cut out squares of baking paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix the dry ingredients.
- Add wet ingredients to the mixer and start mixing on low, then medium speed10-12 minutes. (If using hand mixer with hook attachment, make sure you stop the mixer for a minute after a few minutes, to avoid overheating).
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Weight portions of 60 gr for traditional size donuts or 30 gr for 2-bites size donuts.
- Place the donut over a baking sheet, each donut over a piece of a square of baking paper. Cover the donuts with a towel and set aside.
- Let the donuts rise at room temperature for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- About 20 minutes before frying, start preheating your vegetable oil.
- Place the donuts with baking paper in the hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side. Once golden brown, remove from the oil and place over a wire rack to drain excess oil.
For the Sugar Donuts
- Place the donuts in a bowl of sugar while they are still warm.
- Carefully remove the excess sugar before serving.
For Cookie Butter / Speculoos Donuts
- Place soften cookie butter in a piping bag with a round tip
- Make a incision on one side of the donut with a pairing knife, then place the piping tip inside the incision and fill the donut
- Spread or pipe some cookie butter on top of each donut, and top with pieces of Speculoos cookies.
Chocolate Filling
- Simmer the milk of choice, and pour the hot milk over the chopped semi-sweet chocolate. Set aside for a few minutes, until the chocolate starts to melt.
- Mix the milk and chocolate very well with a whisk, until everything is well incorporated, the ganache is glossy and no chocolate chunk remains.
- Cover the ganache with plastic wrap on contact and set aside until the ganache is semi-firm and spoonable.
- Mix the ganache with the whipping cream. Place the whipped ganache inside a piping bag with a round tip. Set aside.
- Make a incision on one side of the donut with a pairing knife, then place the piping tip inside the incision and fill the donut with the whipped ganache.
- Glaze (recipe follows) and set aside for a few minutes, for the glaze to set.
Notes
If you are using "dry yeast" instead of "rapid rise or instant yeast", use double the amount of yeast. Instant yeast can be added directly to the dry ingredients, but if you are using dry yeast, you need to bloom (activate) it first. Sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm water listed on the recipe, mix well with a fork and set aside for a few minutes until foamy. Then, the yeast if ready to use. VANILLA SUGAR:
If you don’t have vanilla sugar you can make your own just scrape out the seeds of one vanilla pod and mix with 1 cup of sugar. Place this into a airtight container together with the vanilla pod until ready to use. If you can’t find vanilla sugar or make your own, use 1 tsp of vanilla extract in its place.
If you are making the dough by hand In a big bowl, mix your dry ingredients, then make a well in the center and add your mixed wet ingredients. Start working with your hands, mixing the ingredients from the center outwards, until you form a dough. It will be sticky. DON'T be tempted to add more flour to the dough itself. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for about an hour at room temperature, until double in size. ** If you will be making the donuts later, you can place the bowl, covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator, for a slow fermentation, until ready to use. When ready to use, take the bowl out of the refrigerator and let come to room temperature and double in size before proceeding with next steps. Once the dough has doubled in size, push down the dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface, and continue with the next steps.
If you are baking the doughnuts
Preheat your oven to 180ºC (350ºF) .
Shape the doughnuts and place on a baking sheet with baking paper.
Set the donuts aside until double in size, and bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Storing for future use: Shape the doughnuts and place over a baking sheet covered with baking paper or a silicon mat.
Place the baking sheet in the freezer until the donuts are rock hard.
Remove the donuts from the baking sheet and store on in a ziplock bag.
When ready to use, place each donut over a square of baking paper and on a baking sheet to come to room temperature and double in size. Then, fry or bake as stated previously
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